


Burt Bridges and Waterlogged Confessions

by AlexSmithxox



Series: The Tale of Ronan [3]
Category: Arthurian Nights (D&D Campaign), Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Original Work
Genre: Angst, Arthurian legend - Freeform, Attempted Murder, D&D, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Dungeons & Dragons Campaign, Flashbacks, Guilt, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Past Relationship(s), Past Violence, Reconciliation, Selkies, but not weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexSmithxox/pseuds/AlexSmithxox
Summary: Past lovers meet after over a decade apart to speak about past regrets.This is a work based on an ongoing D&D campaign and my character, Ronan's, backstory.
Relationships: Past Ronan Mann/Tadgh McConnell
Series: The Tale of Ronan [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1975621
Kudos: 1





	Burt Bridges and Waterlogged Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> This work is based on the Arthurian Legends and the universe my DM has created for our campaign.

Burt Bridges and Waterlogged Confessions

* * *

Alemount’s sunny summer climate was dimmed inside the small bar section of the Dancing Hare Inn where two men sat in silence.

The first to arrive had been a middle-aged blond who shuffled around the various drunkards in search of a quiet corner. After all, serious conversations were best to be had in a more private setting, but he doubted his future company would want to be anywhere remote with him. He had lost that trust over a decade ago. Once he had found a mostly private two-seater that wouldn’t send the other running, he collapsed onto a chair to wait for what would surely be a tense conversation. 

The other man to enter the inn’s dingy bar had been a tall ginger-haired man with a detached expression that seemed to etched permanently onto his face. He scanned the room in obvious distaste before settling on the aforementioned male. With a few dubious strides, he reached the secluded table and sat ramrod straight in the stiff oak chair. 

The blond regarded his company with a miserable eye and found he much preferred a scowl or look of rage upon the redhead’s face, not this impenetrable wall. It made his shoulders hunch and fingers shake, knowing he was the reason for this lack of spirit. He had doused this man’s fire in the worst way possible. Guilt ate greedily at the small remnants of his heart. 

Silence reigned for several minutes as the men regarded each other. Then, “Tadgh, why am I here? I have more important things to do than waste my time on the likes of you.”

God, not only did it hurt to see him, but it hurt just as much to hear him. The words had stung like a venomous spray, but he deserved it. He had hurt Ronan in more ways than Ronan could ever hurt him. 

“Ro please, I-“ he swallowed around the building lump in his throat. Across from him, he saw the clenching of fists. ‘ _I don’t deserve to call him that anymore._ ’ “ _Ronan_ , I didn’t know what to do and you, hurting you and leaving you, it has always been my biggest regret.” He could feel the tears welling in his eyes and scrubbed harshly at them. He was weak, he was a coward and a bastard, but the only way to fix one of those things was to confront the problem head-on.

Ronan bit the right side of his bottom lip. To Tadhg, the action felt all too familiar. It had been his ex-lover’s nervous tell, he had done it the day they had met, the day they first kissed, and the day that everything had gone wrong. It was eerie to see it once more. 

“Why am I here? How did you find me? I haven’t been here since, well you know.” Admittedly it hadn’t been too much of a struggle to find the man. He had kept his ears open to any rumors of a man matching Ronan’s description that had seen wandering either the island or the harbor cities of the mainland. It had been both blessing and a curse to learn the object of his pursuits had been spotted a few months ago with a group of travelers. He had disregarded the rouge's word at first, Ronan was never one to place too much trust in strangers. 

Especially not after what he had done.

_The fierce slashing and hacking at limbs. The rage as he and the mob tore at any and all they could get to within stabbing distance. The wails as some tried to run only to be killed where they stood, unable to escape to their home. The thick, red liquid that had stained the white sand till high-tide._

_The bloodbath that changed him into the monster he had sought out to destroy._

“That-that’s not important. Look I just, I just wanted to see you and I wanted to return something.” By Lugh, it was hard to speak when your tongue felt like sandpaper. With trembling hands, he reached into the pocket on his cotton trousers and set the small object in the middle of the table. A pale, peach-colored shell. 

He could hear Ronan’s breath hitch. He was fully aware of the labored pants he was making but he refused to lift his gaze from the shell. 

“I thought,” Ronan’s composure fell as his voice cracked with emotion. He coughed though it did little to help the wavering tone. “I thought you would have destroyed it. Why?” And gods wasn’t that a loaded question? 

He shrugged. Originally he hadn’t had an actual reason to keep it other than the fact he had forgotten about it until well over a year later. He had found it while searching for his winter boots and saw the small object where it had supposedly fallen beneath his bed. He hadn’t realized its significance until he held it up to his face and saw the pink and orange hues on its smooth curves. He nearly threw it to the ground and trampled it beneath his heel before he stopped himself and actually looked at it. He remembered seeing it for the first time

_The blazing sun. The scent of saltwater pervading the air. The calm rocking of his rowboat. And finally, the shell, carefully placed on his fishing gear with a glittering surface and the urge to keep it safe from harm.  
_

_“Tadhg~“_

_The small dimples on freckled cheeks. The shy yet enchanting voice. The velvet lips that kissed his own soundly. The soft, bloodstained hands that clutched the lifeless body-_

“Tadgh!”

He flinched at the snapping tone to Ronan’s voice. He couldn’t remember a time where Ronan had ever been particularly _angry_ with him during their relationship, not until the very end had he really shown a feeling quite similar. Displeased or annoyed, yes, but never angry. Maybe his actions had changed the other in ways he hadn’t considered. 

“I almost did, destroy it that is,” and didn’t that hurt to admit, to say that he almost had destroyed the one object that symbolized the love they once had for each other? “But I guess I got caught up in the memories and figured it would be better if I returned it properly as well as apologized for my actions.” He presses the edge of his fists into his eyes to stop the ever-present burn of tears and hide the red tint to his cheeks. 

“Tadgh,” he began darkly. “You know full well I cannot forgive you for what you did. Please don’t ask me to do it.” There was a hint of a snarl on the man’s face, twisting his lips in a way that made him look so foreign. 

“No! No, that’s not why I wanted to see you, I swear! I don’t want to beg for forgiveness or even make you think you were wrong in all of this. I just want,” he had to pause for a moment to remember why he had sent for his ex to meet him here. Did he want forgiveness? Well yes, but deep down he knew he neither deserved nor could accept it. 

“I just wanted to know, have you found someone?” He held the redhead’s gaze for a few seconds, searching for any hint of his long lost love’s previous spark. There! In the crystal blue eyes, there was a flash of joy. 

The man across from him drew a breath before releasing it and allowing a small smile to settle on his face. The simple change brightened the man’s whole demeanor. “I have, though not in the way you are thinking. I have been traveling with a small group for almost a year now and I see them all as a family. I…I have grown rather attached to them.” His eyes drifted down to his wringing hands as he bit his lip. This time he didn’t have the uneasy air about him, just the relaxed feeling of contentment and resounding happiness.

And with that, Tadgh could breathe just a bit easier. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, this is not Beta-ed by the way, sorry for any mistakes I made.


End file.
